We know Vidyut Jammwal takes his action very seriously, but we couldn’t help but raise our eyebrows when we read an interview of his recently. In it, he was quoted saying that he can’t see Indian heroines donning an action avatar, and they are better off playing timid characters. We called him to follow up on that, and he told us his statement was misinterpreted in the interview. He clarified, saying that: “I think what I said was misrepresented and misunderstood. While it’s great to see women do action, I prefer seeing women showcase their inner strength by virtue of their words, expressions and their persona far more. They add a very unique dimension and depth to a scene.”
We like it when women show their inner strength too, but we love it even more when they kick some serious butt on-screen! Unfortunately, our filmmakers still don’t seem to be writing enough of those characters yet, but there are actresses in the industry today who have proven they can carry an action role on their shoulders. So when these film writers do begin penning such stories, here are some of the actresses they should probably consider calling up! After all, they’ve got the experience.
1. Priyanka Chopra
In Don 2, Priyanka Chopra plays the character of Roma, a girl who is out to seek revenge for her brother’s murder. PC trained in martial arts for this role, and performed a number of action sequences on-screen, alongside the film’s male actors. For Drona, too, PC was trained in Gatka by special experts. Now, her upcoming Mary Kom biopic has her learning boxing and undergoing a special fitness regimen to get ready for some action sequences.
2. Katrina Kaif
We even dubbed her the new action heroine in town at one point, since she was training for two films back-to-back. In Ek Tha Tiger, we were very pleased to see that she delivered some fantastic action scenes and didn’t play second fiddle to Salman Khan. Even while she was shooting ETT, Katrina was training for Dhoom 3 – Aditya Chopra, in fact, even sent three trainers on sets of Ek Tha Tiger in Thailand, just so Katrina wouldn’t lose any time getting in shape. She plays a gymnast in Dhoom 3, so we’re expecting to see a lot, and word has it that these are going to be some very sophisticated action moves. You can catch a glimpse of her lithe avatar in the song promo of Dhoom Machale Dhoom. It’s also too early to say yet, but it’s possible that Katrina’s upcoming film with Saif Ali Khan, Phantom, may have some action scenes in it as well.
3. Deepika Padukone
For one of her roles in Chandni Chowk to China, Deepika Padukone played a Chinese girl who is trained in martial arts. In order to get herself ready for the role, DPad had to undergo months of intensive training. The film didn’t fare too well at the box office, but the actress pulled off some super scenes that garnered her attention.
4. Kangana Ranaut
In Krrish 3, Kangana Ranaut played India’s first super villain. For her mutant role, she trained in martial arts and included kick boxing in her fitness regimen. She called the character “physically challenging,” since the action her character does is “unreal” and something that a regular human being won’t be able to do. The team brought in an action director from China to supervise such sequences, and although Kangana claims they were difficult, she felt she learned a lot and was glad to have done such a different role. Her performance was mostly well received, with many people going so far as to call her the best thing about the film – even over the other lead stars, Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra.
5. Kareena Kapoor
For her film with hubby Saif Ali Khan, Agent Vinod, Kareena Kapoor did some hardcore action, and performed her own stunts. Unfortunately, she even got injured while shooting some of the scenes – especially one that involved her jumping off a helicopter (she was wearing a harness, but apparently fell from it before she could hit the ground, so ended up mildly spraining her neck). Other than that, she also walked away with a bunch of bruises.
Bonus
On a similar note, we’re also very excited to watch Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla‘s upcoming film, Gulaab Gang. I mean, just check out the first look poster of Madhuri. If she looks so powerful in a still picture, I can’t wait to see what she does in the actual film. #KillingIt
Psst! While Vidyut prefers seeing women in non-action roles, he’s willing to teach you what you need to know if you really need to kick some butt in real life. Once a month, he will be holding a special self defense workshop for women to come learn how to defend themselves.